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Friday, May 23, 2014

Kids' Finger Puppet Art Activity

Sometimes I feel like I’ve made a million kids’
puppets. Stick puppets, paper bag puppets, marionettes – a dizzying array of
pretend play friends. Alright, maybe it’s not a million. But, during my years
of teaching museum-based children’s’ art programs I spent many summers making
puppets at art camp. With all the puppet-making choices out there, this time
I’m bringing you a plaster thumb puppet.

If plaster sounds like a messy art activity to do
with kids – it is. Prep for the ooeey, gooey mess by covering your work surface
with a flattened garbage bag. If you just use paper or newspaper, the wet
plaster will soak through.

1.Cut
the plaster into thin strips. Look at your child’s thumb. You’ll be wrapping it
in the plaster, so size the strips accordingly.

2.Put
the plastic baggie over your child’s thumb. Use a fold-over bag, and not the
zipper kind. The folding baggies are easier to mold around your child’s hand.

3.Have
your child use her free hand to dip the plaster into a container of water.

4.Help
her to wrap her thumb (over the baggie) with the strips. Don’t wrap her thumb
too tightly. You’ll want to remove the thumb cast easily. Let the bag bunch a
bit to create a space between your child’s thumb and the plaster wrap.

5.Keep
the plaster on your child’s for about five minutes to let it set – like a mold.

6.Gently
remove the still-wet plaster (keeping the baggies in place) from your child’s
hand. Set it down to dry.

7.When
the plaster is completely dry (the drying time depends on how wet the plaster
is and how thick you’ve made the cast), your child can paint it. Remove the
baggie first. Choose a character for the puppet. It can be a person, animal or
made-up creature! The paint colors that your child chooses and how she paints
the cast depends on the character.

8.Add
hair, fur or other details. Your child can embellish her puppet with extra
materials that you have on hand such as glitter, googley eyes, foil, fabric
scraps or craft feathers.

When the paint and glue dries, slip the cast onto
your child’s finger for some fun-filled pretend play!

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